Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna recently left his fans excited when he announced the return of his iconic character Shaktimaan to Indian screens. He shared a video to give a glimpse of his look as Shaktimaan and had urged viewers to welcome him with open arms. On Thursday (November 14), he shared a long post on X to issue a clarification over his comeback as Shaktimaan. The veteran actor mentioned that he has come up only with a patriotic song quiz and he is not interested to prove that he is better than Ranveer Singh.
For those unversed, in 2022, it was reported that Ranveer will play the role of Shaktimaan in the remake of the cult classic superhero show. Back then, Mukesh Khanna had objected to Ranveer’s casting.
Now, he has addressed those who stated that his new Shaktimaan video is a response to the news of Ranveer reprising his iconic role in a film. He wrote, “I have come to clarify a misconception which a section of my viewers are started having that through this song and press conference I had come to declare to the world that I will be the next Shaktimaan. Totally wrong.”
Mukesh Khanna added, “Firstly why should I say I will be the next Shaktimaan… Without me there can not be other Shaktimaan… Secondly I have not come to prove or show that I am better than Ranveer Singh or anyone who will wear the mantle of Shaktimaan.”
“I came as older Shaktimaan to pass on a message to today’s generation only because I felt older Shaktimaan will be in a better position to do that than the new one because the older Shaktimaan already has readymade audience for the last 27 years. I came with a patriotic quiz song as older Shaktimaan because I can and everyone should clearly see that darkness and evil is prevailing over children of today. In Shaktimaan’s language it can be said ‘Andhera kaayam ho raha hai’,” his note further read.
The veteran actor also mentioned that he is not sure about who the next Shaktimaan will be. “The need of the hour is, this message should be urgently passed. So rest assured new Shaktimaan will come. Who will he be, I can’t say. Because even I don’t know. Hunt is still on.”
Shaktimaan, which first aired in 1997 on Doordarshan, became one of India’s most beloved superhero shows. The series ran for over 450 episodes. Mukesh Khanna had played the iconic role of Shaktimaan and his mild-mannered alter ego, Pandit Gangadhar Vidhyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri, a photographer for the newspaper Aaj Ki Aawaz.
Shaktimaan’s superhuman powers were depicted as being attained through meditation and mastery over the five elements: Space, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
